Ashland girls making
late run up ‘D’ softball rankings
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
After a slow start, the Ashland Hornet softball team is putting itself in a good position as the playoffs near.
Dave Allen Graphics photo
SHANNON TODD of the Central Aroostook Panthers gets ready to swing at a pitch during a home game against Washburn last Wednesday. CA holds a 10-2 record, good for third place in EM Class D.
Ashland started off by losing four of its first five games, but have turned that around by winning four of five over the past two weeks.
Included in the recent successful stretch were victories over Central Aroostook and Southern Aroostook – two of the top-rated teams in Eastern Maine Class D. Those victories have helped push coach Terry Hunter’s team to 5-5 overall and into the No. 5 position in the current rankings, with still five more games remaining.
Last Tuesday, Ashland downed the Panthers at home, 10-8. Two days later, the Hornets handed Southern Aroostook a 14-10 loss in a game played in Dyer Brook. The latest victory avenged an 8-6 loss to the Warriors in Ashland May 3.
Central Aroostook is now third in the Heal Point standings with its 10-2 record, while Washburn is 12th at 1-11 and Fort Fairfield 13th at 4-8. Only the top eight teams will qualify for the post-season.
In Class B, Presque Isle entered last week with a 3-2 record but dropped all six of its contests to fall all the way to 14th place out of 19 teams.
The Wildcats lost its scheduled game against Caribou last Tuesday, 6-2, and then went on to lose five make-up games – a single loss at home to Mattanawcook last Wednesday and doubleheader losses to Old Town Friday and John Bapst Saturday.
In baseball, most of the local teams struggled to come up with victories last week and only the Central Aroostook Panthers appear to be guaranteed a berth in the upcoming post-season.
CA’s latest game was Monday, and the result was a walk-off loss as Hodgdon prevailed, 7-6, on Nick Lunn’s home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Panthers had beaten Hodgdon two weeks earlier at home when Brendan York hit a walk-off grand slam.
Central Aroostook, the defending EM Class D champion, is in sixth place in the latest Heal Point rankings with its 8-3 record.
The Fort Fairfield Tigers had a rough week by losing all four of their contests, including being swept in a doubleheader Saturday against Hodgdon. Still, Fort Fairfield is in the hunt for a playoff position with a 5-7 record. The Tigers are currently in ninth place with three games remaining on their schedule.
Washburn (1-12) and Ashland (0-10) are in 16th and 17th place, respectively, in the division. The two teams square off for the second time this season today in Washburn. The Beavers won the first meeting between the two squads, 16-7, in a game played in Ashland May 12.
The Presque Isle Wildcats started their busy week strong, but then were swept in a pair of doubleheaders played Friday and Saturday.
PI used strong pitching to defeat Caribou last Tuesday, 6-2, and then held off a pesky Mattanawcook team the following afternoon, 7-6.
Then came the twinbills, and the losses. Old Town came into the James E. Dyer Field Friday and dealt the Wildcats a pair of convincing losses by scores of 8-0 and 10-2.
The following afternoon, again at home, PI fell to John Bapst, 5-4 in game one and 8-4 in the second game of the afternoon.
